The Details

Lewis Black

May 18-19, 10 p.m., $60-$80.

Mirage, 792-7777.

One of comedy’s last great satirists was Bill Hicks, a philosopher who vacillated between yelling at and with his audience, a preacher who used his pulpit as a means to get at the heart of what’s important in life while showing how ludicrous our institutions—which refuse to evolve—truly are. The closest thing to this generation’s Hicks is Lewis Black, an ultra-literate guy who isn’t shy about sharing his acute observations. But while Hicks used his rage as a tightly wound cobra that only struck from time to time, Black is almost nonstop in his apoplexy (indeed, this is one of the few comics we can think of who suffers on CD, simply because he needs to be seen in addition to being heard). You’re almost as in awe of Black’s energy as you are of his bravery. For all those complacent souls reading this, know this: Black has your cure.